Creativity and Wellbeing

Published 01/03/2021. Last updated 11/04/2023

Practice exemplars

Creativity and Wellbeing banner

The Covid-19 pandemic and resulting restrictions had a profound effect on all our lives, particularly impacting on our children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing. Research and experience tell us that creative learning across the curriculum and the development of creativity skills lead to improved wellbeing, confident learners and teachers, and a wider sense of achievement. This is reflected in the refreshed vision of the national Creative Learning Plan; ‘to ensure the Scottish education system enables everyone to recognise, develop and apply their creativity to ensure they thrive in an increasingly complex and fast-changing world’.

This week of events provided a platform for practitioners, learners and partners to celebrate and share inspiring stories of creativity, innovation, collaboration and empowerment that became a silver lining of the pandemic and are helping learners to thrive.

Also see (below):

Resources
Follow-up from Sessions
Links

Events programme

Monday 28 March
Time	Presenter/Host	Session
10:00 - 11:30	Keynote: Professor Anne Bamford, Strategic Director of Education, Skills, and Culture, City of London.	Fusion: The role of creativity on flourishing and wellbeing Fusion Skills are the competencies, characteristics and tools which individuals need to flourish in the 21st Century environment. They are as necessary for school-age children as they are for adults. One of the core Fusion Skills is Creativity. Creativity has a positive impact on learning and the learners and promotes wellbeing. Creativity is vital to flourish in society today, vital to the economy, and vital to enrich future lives. There is a proliferation of complex problems to be addressed, new types of jobs, new ways of working and the influence of technology is ubiquitous. Fusion will be the predominant way of being and be crucial for future success and happiness. See recording of session on YouTube See session resources below
11:45 - 12:45	Jean Laird, Stepping Stones Development Officer, General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS) and Hollie Simpson, Kinross High School	Creativity and professional growth This session is suitable for teachers interested in professional growth and developing creative learning and teaching. There will be a focus on exploring one early career teachers’ enquiring approaches and experiences. Reference will also be made to The Professional Standards and the Creativity in Learning and Teaching Professional Guide. See recording of session on YouTube See session resources below
13:00 - 14:00	Elizabeth McGuire and Nicola Crawford, Curriculum Innovation Team, Education Scotland	Co-designing Creative Curriculum opportunities with Industry Partners This session will explore and exemplify how secondary schools and their partners have developed and delivered a creative curriculum offer through the pandemic. See recording of session on YouTube
14:15 - 15:30	Mahri Reilly and Ryan Hay, Scottish Youth Theatre	Valuing Your Own Needs This participatory workshop is a gentle space for personal reflection. A space where you are invited to identify your own wellbeing needs, the things you want to change, and the steps you can take to make the change.
15:45 - 17:00	Helena Good, Katie Simpson, Philippa Drummond, Daydream Believers and Lucy Eades, Acrylicize	Daydream Believers – Reimagining wellbeing in our schools Create a new wellness area in your school. What does it look like and how would you activate the area? This is the challenge for pupils working on the new Creative Thinking qualification. In this session we will discuss why is this an innovative way to embed wellbeing in the curriculum. See recording of session on YouTube See session resources below

Tuesday 29 March
Time	Presenter/Host	Session
10:00 - 11:15	Simon Sharkey, Director, The Necessary Space	The Conference of the Birds How to plug your pupils into a global network and make learning about climate change fun, impactful, connected and full of hope and agency You will be given access to a global network of creative outputs, exercises and ideas that enhance your teaching of the complex and emotional responses that children experience when being learning about or being exposed to the existential threat of climate change. See recording of session on YouTube
11:30 - 12:30	Learners from Dounby Community School, Orkney	Include, Involve, Inspire – Building Our Ethos Using Creative Leadership Thinking about belonging at Dounby Primary School - Exploring the meaning of belonging to a school community and why it matters. Utilising creative leadership approaches to build ownership and community. See recording of session on YouTube
14:00 - 15:00	Laura Frood and Co-Researchers from Articulate	The Cradle of Learning This creative participatory digital workshop will be led by care-experienced young people from the Articulate Cultural Trust in Scotland who have been working with The Verbatim Formula research team. Celebrate your brain creatively. Share your experiences of barriers and challenges in learning and life. We invite you to join the cradle. See recording of session on YouTube
16:00 - 17:00	Creative Wellbeing Project Community	In Conversation with the Creative Wellbeing Project Community Join Creative Partners and Education settings who are working together to develop learners’ creativity skills and improve wellbeing through the Creative Wellbeing Fund. Hear from participants on the challenges, highlights and learning each project is experiencing. Be inspired to embark on your own creative collaborative journey. See recording of session on YouTube
17:15 - 18:15	Rosie Reid and Louise Hamilton, Vox Liminis and Glasgow CREATE	The Trial of Rex Redford; a partnership project Firstly, we will look at the journey of the ongoing partnership between Vox Liminis and Glasgow CREATE. We will share learning and reflections from The Trial of Rex Redford and offer the The Trial of Rex Redford project to new educational communities. This session aims to engage educators into a dialogue about the potential of creativity to explore social issues such as crime and punishment. See session resources below

Wednesday 30 March
Time	Presenter/Host	Session
16:00 - 17:00	Orkney and Stirling Creative Learning Networks in partnership with National Galleries Scotland – Your Art World	Creative Approaches to the Visual Arts Explore practical ideas for use in class to develop creativity skills through the visual arts. Orkney and Stirling Creative Learning Networks in partnership with National Galleries of Scotland will describe recent partnership work and resources available to support you. Aimed at primary and secondary teachers. See recording of session on YouTube See session resources below
17:00 - 18:00	Graeme Wallace and Leigh Watson, Curriculum Innovation Team, Education Scotland	Curriculum design – understanding the learners We will share two examples of curriculum design to promote wellbeing and use these as provocations for discussion. Participants will exchange ideas and thinking on how curriculum design can empower young people to be responsible for their own wellbeing. See recording of session on YouTube See session resources below

Thursday 31 March
Time	Presenter/Host	Session
10:00 - 11:30	Linda Lees and Charlotte Bennett, City of Edinburgh Council	Learner Led Consultation The Learner Led Consultation was part of a wider Learning Strategy asking learners why, where and how they like to learn. A series of artist-led workshops in schools, EYC settings and the community involved over 100 participants in a journey of engagement and creativity. The findings will help shape curriculum reform. See recording of session on YouTube See session resources below
14:00 - 15:30	Keynote: Dr Debra Kidd, educator, practitioner, trainer and author	A Curriculum of Hope In this session we’ll explore how to make learning matter for young people and how by thinking about five key principles – coherence, content, creativity, compassion and community – we can embed meaningful and agentive learning for all.
16:00 - 17:00	Stuart McIntyre, @MrDataCoach, West Lothian Creative Learning Network	Making Space for Creativity to Happen Explore (and question) a detailed example of an exciting way in which practitioners have made space for creativity in their classrooms / settings / curriculum. See recording of session on YouTube See session resources below

Friday 1 April
Time	Presenter/Host	Session
10:00 - 11:30	National Creative Learning Network	In Conversation with the National Creative Learning Network A conversation with the National Creative Learning Network on creativity and wellbeing through the lens of the refreshed Creative Learning Plan goals: Collaborate, Empower, Embed. Join local authority Creative Learning leads for facilitated, meaningful discussion around what this looks like within our practice. See session resources below
11:45 - 13:00	Emily Reid, Artistic Director and Saffron Gillies, Drama Artist, Eco Drama	Eco Drama ~ Storytelling, Drama and Creativity in Learning for Sustainability This event showcases two creative learning projects by Eco Drama - ‘Future Calling’, a digital arts and climate change project delivered with secondary pupils during lockdown, and arts-based outdoor learning project ‘Out to Play’. The session highlights the rich possibilities of creative learning through presentation, practical ideas and discussion. See recording of session on YouTube See session resources below

Resources

PDF file: Scotland’s Creative Learning Plan – Refreshed Creative Learning Plan High-level messages slide pack (635 KB)

Stimulating new approaches to learning and teaching through partnerships between education and cultural sectors

PDF file: A Collaboration for Creativity – Creative Scotland and Education Scotland – Action Plan 2021-22 (141 KB)

Follow-up from Sessions

YouTube playlist of sessions recordings.

PDF file: Fusion: The role of creativity on flourishing and wellbeing - 28/03/22 (3.6 MB)

PDF file: Creativity and professional growth - GTCS - 28/03/22 (1 MB)

PDF file: Acrylicize/daydream believers - 28/03/22 (5.5 MB)

PDF file: Placing creativity at the heart of education - 28/03/22 (5.5 MB)

PDF file: The Conference of the Birds - 29/03/22 (2 MB) No modification allowed

PDF file: The Trial of Rex Redford booklet - 29/03/22 (598 KB)

PDF file: The Trial of Rex Redford slides - 29/03/22 (2 MB)

PDF file: The Secret Creativity Service - Teacher's resource - 29/03/22 (1.2 KB)

Padlet - Cradle of Learning – Articulate Cultural Trust - 29/03/22

PDF file: CLN presentation - 30/03/22 (548 KB)

PDF file: Junior curators - 30/03/22 (3.8 MB)

PDF file: What does creative arts learning look, feel, sound like - 30/03/22 (528 KB)

PDF file: Your art world - 30/03/22 (1.7 MB)

PDF file: Curriculum Design: understanding the learners - 30/03/22 (1.6 MB)

PDF file: Learner Led Consultation - 31/03/22 (7 MB)

PDF file: Making Space for Creativity to Happen - 31/03/22 (3.7 MB)

PDF file: Conversation with National Creative Learning Network - 01/04/22 (1.6 MB)

PDF file: Eco Drama - slides - 01/04/22 (3.7 MB)

PDF file: Eco Drama - Let's go out to play - 01/04/22 (3.4 MB)

Image: Eco Drama Word Cloud - 01/04/22 (80 KB)

Links

Creative Bravery Festival - Celebrating acts of bravery to help transform and rethink the way we educate.

The Creativity Portal - stimulating new approaches to learning and teaching through partnerships between education and cultural sectors.

Creativity resources - National Improvement Hub.

Creative Learning on Pinterest

Daydream Believers gives pupils access to 'real world' experiences through free online resources created by industry experts to help them develop essential skills.

HundrED is a global education non profit organisation whose mission is to help improve education through impactful innovations.

IDL Thought Paper, Education Scotland, NoTosh and a Co-Design team from across Scotland.

Safe Face to Face Working by Cultural Practitioners During Covid-19 Restrictions - Eight Case Studies, Arts in Education Recovery Group.

YouTube video: School of the (Im)Possible

The Conference of the Birds

UNBOXED – A UK wide ground-breaking celebration of creativity taking place in 2022.

Partnership logos